Vehicle exteriors are vulnerable to damage when parked due to the risk of impact from other vehicles parking alongside and opening doors while parties enter or exit their vehicles, causing damage to the exterior of parked vehicle. This damage is also caused by impact from other objects such as two-wheel vehicles, and shopping carts. This risk is compounded by crowded parking lots, narrow parking spaces, angled parking spaces, as well as differences in vehicle types and sizes such as minivans, trucks, and sport utility vehicles, all with a variety of protruding shapes of the vehicle's door design. Conventional vehicle manufacturers provide minimal protective solutions generally consisting of narrow side-strip molding on some automobiles, while many manufacturers provide no exterior molding protection.
Conventional aftermarket side-exterior vehicle protection devices include a variety of molding strips, elongated tubing, or pads comprised of plastics, foam, or rubber materials. Such devices can fail to sufficiently protect the vehicle from damage. For example, a conventional molding strip may cover the furthest outward point of a vehicle's doors. Vehicles adjacent to the one being protected by the device, however, can have different contours and the furthest outward point of those adjacent vehicles could be relatively higher or lower. Because these lightweight strips are often permanently affixed to the vehicle door, it may be impossible to reorient the device to protect the vehicle. Such conventional lightweight, conformable strips or pads therefore often provide insufficient coverage.
Some conventional devices have large dimensions, covering a significant portion of the doors, and the width and length of the vehicle's side panels. These conventional devices, while providing more protection than the lightweight versions described previously, are burdensome to handle and manage and do not quickly attach to the vehicle. Both lightweight and bulkier versions of conventional aftermarket door protection devices suffer from poor coverage of the various protruding points of different vehicle makes and models. This is compounded by a variety of parking angles and positioning available in parking lots.
Although these problems have been recognized, no fully satisfactory solution has yet been produced. U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,331 (“Ziner”) discloses linear, elongated molding with telescopic, spring-urged tubes that attach to vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,223 (“Hoshell”) also discloses a linear molding intended to be attached to an automobile door with telescopic tubes and attachment clips. Neither Ziner nor Hoshell, however, provides adequate vertical protection to a vehicle and both require time-consuming adjusting and attaching clips to the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,162,383 (“Curtis”) discloses a flexible, elongated molding with magnets for attachment to vehicle sides, and with emphasis on a self-coiling (slap-bracelet) piece inserted throughout the length of the main body molded piece, however the width and length reflected in drawings provides insufficient protection coverage for many vehicles and contemplated uses. Also, the size required for the self-coiling (slap-bracelet) piece within the elongated main body, particularly given the main body's thickness and density, causes the slap-bracelet to be cumbersome for one person to easily uncoil and lock into the desired flat shape. Furthermore, providing this device with the option of larger dimensions as suggested, increases the difficulty of conveniently uncoiling and locking flat to attach to a vehicle. Moreover, once uncoiled to the rigid, flat slap-bracelet position, the device will not conform over the shapes and curved ridges designed on many vehicle models. Additionally, the backside magnets are covered with a soft felt material, however this material is prone to mildew and deterioration in wet or humid outside weather conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,015 to McNeil discloses elongated flexible panels with a soft cloth material covering the device's magnets, however the cloth material is also prone to deterioration and mildew. This device also utilizes elastic straps for attachment which will also deteriorate over time. Moreover, this device requires invasive holes drilled into the vehicle's wheel-wells for permanent attachment of metal hooks with lock nuts which disturbs the integrity of the sealed, encased wheel-wells, and the metal hooks are also prone to corrosion especially in these wheel-well locations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,407 to Villaveces discloses an elongated magnetic-strip car protector with the main body having an inner layer of magnetic material and outer layer of shock-absorbing flexible material. This device provides inadequate width and length for optimal protection to a vehicle in many contemplated uses. Its edges are also required to be inserted into the crack of the vehicle door, restricting one's ability to optimally adjust the position of the device to best protect exposed areas of a vehicle's side-exterior according to a parking space or angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,979 to Swinton discloses a multi-hinged, folding device consisting of hard flat material such as plexiglass. This device is not flexible allowing it to contour to the vehicle's shape or to form over protruding parts. This device also does not provide one-size, universal use, and instead this device must be constructed in various sizes and shapes in order to accommodate each individual vehicle make and model.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,380 to Cruz discloses elongated strips of a semi-rigid material with a retainer strap at one end of the strip which is secured inside the vehicle. This device is limited in width and length for optimal, adjustable protection to a vehicle, and it protects essentially only a portion of the door it is attached to. It also is not flexible and therefore, as described with respect to the '979 patent to Swinton, does not allow for coverage of different curves of a vehicle's shape other than the one it was designed for.
Several other conventional vehicle-protection devices are cumbersome and time consuming to attach and remove. Such devices use hooks, suction cups, spring-loaded clips or strapping to adhere to the vehicle. These require a great deal of effort to properly attach, and can be difficult to conveniently store in one's vehicle due to the physical size when not in use. Several of these devices must also be constructed in a customized fashion as previously described in order to fit an intended vehicle and use.
As such, there is a need in the industry for a device that is capable of protecting an entire vehicle side panel and/or door(s), in a variety of settings and uses. Furthermore, there is a need for this device to be usable by a single person, without being overly cumbersome. Finally, it is desirable for the aforementioned systems to incorporate theft-deterrence systems, without making the system slow or unwieldy.